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Megalobulimust is a royal snail
For the extraordinary appearance and large size of these unusual mollusks are often called royal snails.
Megalobulimus (Latin Megalobulimus) – land snails that live in the warm rain forests of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Peru, where from July to November there are so beloved tropical showers. Part of the population of megas, as they are popularly called, settled on several islands of the Caribbean Sea: Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique.
Pointed, gracefully spiraled and slightly elongated shells of megalobulimus grow to 7-8 cm in length, but often there are truly royal specimens with 11 centimeter shells.
In young snails, shells are glossy, light brown, but in the second year of life they gradually lose their gloss, the upper layer molts, becoming matte. In adult megalobulimus shells are even, almost white in color with a red or raspberry rim in the lower part.
The most prominent feature of megalobulimus is the fan-like tentacles connected by webbeds, but moving in different directions independently of each other. The torso (leg) of the snail is wide and flat, gelatinous and soft.
Despite the large, compared to other snails, the area of the sole, the body of the megalobulimus emits much less mucus than its relatives. This sole is the main olfactory and tactile organ, with which the snail slowly and carefully feels every inch of the surface near it.
Megalobulimus are centenarians among snails. Their average life expectancy is about 15 years.
Source: zoopicture.ru
Megalobulimus (Latin Megalobulimus) – land snails that live in the warm rain forests of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Peru, where from July to November there are so beloved tropical showers. Part of the population of megas, as they are popularly called, settled on several islands of the Caribbean Sea: Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique.
Pointed, gracefully spiraled and slightly elongated shells of megalobulimus grow to 7-8 cm in length, but often there are truly royal specimens with 11 centimeter shells.
In young snails, shells are glossy, light brown, but in the second year of life they gradually lose their gloss, the upper layer molts, becoming matte. In adult megalobulimus shells are even, almost white in color with a red or raspberry rim in the lower part.
The most prominent feature of megalobulimus is the fan-like tentacles connected by webbeds, but moving in different directions independently of each other. The torso (leg) of the snail is wide and flat, gelatinous and soft.
Despite the large, compared to other snails, the area of the sole, the body of the megalobulimus emits much less mucus than its relatives. This sole is the main olfactory and tactile organ, with which the snail slowly and carefully feels every inch of the surface near it.
Megalobulimus are centenarians among snails. Their average life expectancy is about 15 years.
Source: zoopicture.ru
